Awakenings
by InMyOwnWay
Summary: Case File. Eventually BA ship.
1. Chapter 1

Thanks to everyone for their feedback on Trigger Finger. I've been writing for a while but had never published anything before this week. Here goes nothing right? This first scene with Eames sneaking out is seriously how my life goes, I swear to God. This has totally happened to me. 

Sunday, September 14, 1:14 a.m.

Alex lay on her side, staring at the digital clock. She was careful to breathe as steadily as possible to avoid waking her companion. She craned her neck slowly, trying to locate where each item of clothing had landed.

'Maybe he's a deep sleeper', she thought. Maybe she could get out of this dark bedroom and apartment without knocking anything over and with all of her clothing.

'Yeah right,' she snarked in her head. She was never meant to be the mysterious-one-night-stand girl. Instead she would inevitably not be able to find her bra or something as essential. Then, when she finally decided to fuck the overpriced Victoria's Secret push up bra, she would break something in her escape.

Just as she was about to edge a bare leg out of the comforter and onto the floor, her cell phone rang. In her surprise and rush to get to the phone before Tom (or maybe Rick?) woke up, she fell off the bed and landed on her ass with a big, solid thud. She winced and grabbed the phone, streaking naked into the bathroom.

"Eames," she answered in a breathless whisper.

"Eames? You okay?"

"Yeah, Bobby. Are we getting called out?" She was still whispering but managed to steady her voice.

"Uhm, yeah. Do you want me to stop by and pick you up?"

"No. I'll meet you." After memorizing the address Bobby read to her, she literally tip toed back into the bedroom where she found all of her clothing except her underwear. She was pleased. She could live without underwear for one crime scene. As she closed the door to the apartment, she thanked God she hadn't broken anything and almost skipped to the elevator. Her escape had been much more smooth than customary.

As Bobby neared the crime scene and Alex came into view, his fears were confirmed. Her hair had the remnants of curls and she had on a black silky top and tight jeans. Alex was dating someone. She was at someone else's apartment when he had called. She was whispering to keep from waking up her lover. He had been suspicious for a few weeks but until tonight had nothing to corroborate his suspicions. He pushed the new evidence into the back of his mind as he neared her. She was speaking in a low tone to the detective from the local precinct.

"The mayor's press secretary," Alex supplied when he reached her. "Julianne Meyers. Looks like she was raped but we're not sure yet. Cut up pretty good."

Bobby looked past the yellow tape. Sure enough the woman's body was covered in blood. More blood than he had seen in a while. He walked to her and squatted down. The medical examiner's assistant handed him some gloves and he began his own examination. Alex leaned down to his shoulder and pointed to the end of the ally.

"I'm gonna interview the kid who found her." He nodded and pretended that his stomach hadn't fluttered when her lips had been so close to his ear. Instead, he studied the victim's face. She was pretty, with deep red hair that reached her lower back. She was slender with long legs and fair, perfect skin.

"We find any clothing?"

"No," someone answered, "None. Her purse is right here though."

"He left her to be embarrassed," Goren muttered to no one in particular. "He left her exposed. This wasn't someone who cared for her on a personal level. This was about the murderer, not our victim." Goren looked up, subconsciously expecting Eames to be standing behind him, listening to his ramblings. Instead, he located her at the end of the ally, interviewing the kid like she said she would be.

The bus boy from the Spanish restaurant had been on a smoke break when he found the woman's body. She had been laying in the middle of ally, completely stripped, face up, arms and legs spread eagle. He crossed himself and swore softly before running back inside and calling the police. He now stood against the ally wall, biting his fingernail anxiously. A uniformed officer stood with him, hands in his pockets and obviously bored. Alex approached and nodded to the officer, indicating he could go.

"I'm Detective Eames. I'd like to ask you a few questions."

The bus boy nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Alex continued, "You were out on a smoke break?"

"Yes," he answered. His English was good but slightly accented with his native Spanish tongue.

Alex motioned to the body, "Is this exactly how the body was positioned?"

"Yes. I did not touch her."

Alex moved a piece of hair out of her eyes. "Had you ever seen her before?"

He shook his head. Alex thanked him for the information and for not touching the body and headed back to where Bobby stood.

"Bus boy doesn't know anything. Says he's never seen her before."

"No," Bobby said, "she's not from this area. She lives three blocks from City Hall. Spends all of her time at work. She wouldn't make it all the way down here."

"Her purse is right there," Alex pointed to where an expensive leather purse sat, contents still present.

"Not a robbery," Bobby summarized.

On the way to the victim's apartment uptown, Bobby shared his insights with Alex.

"The murderer didn't have an intimate relationship with her. This was about control. Leaving her naked. Her arms and legs like that. It was about his personal need for control, not revenge or jealousy."

Alex nodded. "So we aren't looking for a boyfriend. Just an acquaintance maybe?"

Goren's head bobbed in confirmation.

The flag in front of City Hall stood at half mass. Alex and Bobby signed in with security at 8:32 a.m. After checking their guns and re-holstering them, the partners made their way upstairs to the floor that housed the mayor's staff.

The deceased's assistant greeted them at the elevator. She stood, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue and then ushered them towards the press secretary's office. The office was well organized with a good view of the city. One whole wall was occupied with televisions. There were two bookshelves that immediately captured Goren's attention, leaving Alex to question the distraught assistant.

"Was Julianne dating anyone?"

A hiccup and then a response, "No. She just broke up with her fiancé last month. She was keeping pretty busy, you know, with the campaign and all."

"Do you know why she broke off the engagement?" The assistant shook her head 'no' and blew her nose.

"About a month before, she said something about Jake not being the one. But there was already wedding stuff done and I thought maybe she was going to go through with it anyway. But then one morning, she didn't have her ring on and then she asked me to cancel the reception sight."

Alex handed the girl another tissue while asking, "Was there anyone here at the office Julianne was having a problem with?"

The girl was now sobbing with her whole body and shaking her head 'no'. Bobby looked up from the book he was flipping through. Alex shrugged and then asked one final question. "When was the last time Julianne was in the office?"

The assistant took a deep breath and finally answered, "Yesterday morning. We did some planning for an event last week. We met here at about nine. I left at noon to meet my parent's for brunch. Julianne was still here."

"Okay, if you could just get me Jake's number, we'll be on our way." The girl blew her nose loudly and stood. When she was out of the office, Bobby stepped away from the books and suggested, "Let's talk to some more people on the way out." Alex nodded.

The general consensus among Julianne Meyer's co-workers was that everyone respected her. The only other woman on the policy staff was a speechwriter named Annie Helder. She was thirty something, tall and definitely the academic type. Her eyeglasses were thick and black rimmed and her suit was just slightly too big. Alex observed that Annie was attempting sophistication but not quite hitting the mark. Alex stood back for this interview and let Goren flirt his way through.

"You two spend a lot of time together outside of work?" he asked, smiling and batting his eyelashes. Alex almost laughed. He was such a girl when he flirted.

"Well, sometimes. I mean, little things like maybe drinks. Really though," she smiled shyly, "we stay pretty busy here. Not a lot of time for outside things."

Bobby nodded understandingly, "Yeah. My partner and I," he gestured awkwardly towards Alex, "see a lot of each other. Lots of hours spent over cases." Alex watched in wonder as Bobby mirrored his behavior to the awkward woman in front of him. 'Give him thirty more seconds,' she thought, 'and he'll have all the information he wants'. Sure enough, five minutes later, the detectives walked out of city hall with the names of the last three bars the women had visited for late night drinks.


	2. Chapter 2

They visited the three bars and also stopped by the victim's bank for her financial information before heading back to 1PP to sort through everything. The bartenders had all been elusive. One had recognized Julianne's picture but claimed to be ignorant about the timing of her visit. The bank records showed no obvious problems or patterns. Alex was able to identify the drink purchases from each bar, which provided timelines for the visits but without a suspect or cooperation from the bartenders, a timeline would not help much.

By nine o'clock that night, both partners were tired from a long day that had started well before sunrise. Alex extracted herself from the conference room and started gathering her things. Bobby sat at the table in the conference room and watched Alex get ready to go. He wondered briefly where she was going. Back to her new boyfriend perhaps? He watched as she threw out the remains of their shared take out and grabbed her shoulder bag. She looked up and around for him and smiled when she located him walking towards her.

"On your way home?" he mentally berated himself. 'What do want Goren? You want her to actually confirm she's dating again?'

Alex nodded tiredly and offered a small smile, "You want to share a cab?"  
Goren found himself agreeing and gathering his coat and portfolio. Sure enough, once inside the cab, Alex offered her own address, not some foreign one, and Goren found himself relieved. After Alex got out of the cab, Bobby sat back and closed his eyes. He didn't like feeling… like this. Out of control. Alex was his partner and physical proximity was part of the job. Inappropriate thoughts kept creeping into his head every time she touched him or smiled or got too close. And the thoughts were coming faster and stronger and with less warning lately.

It was after she had her sister's baby last spring or maybe it was while she was away on maternity leave. Somewhere along the way, he had realized just how vital Alex Eames had become to him. He felt unsteady, wrong without her. There was no longer a question; he was in love with Alex.

When he had rushed to the hospital after confirmation of the birth, he had found himself pacing while waiting for the elevator. He realized he was nervous to see his partner, an emotion he had never associated with Alex. He was rushed to make sure that she was still intact, physically and emotionally. And what he found when he entered that hospital room was a pale and drowsy Alex. She was quiet and obviously tired and wanted nothing more from him than his presence for a few moments. So he sat by her bedside and asked questions that had easy answers and shied away from anything of significance. He didn't mention the case he had just broken. He didn't reveal that this time when he related with the suspect his understanding centered with Alex. He just stroked her hand for a few minutes while she fell into sleep and then sat and watched for a few more minutes after that.

But that was six months ago. Alex was back to work and things should be getting back to normal. Instead, he was obsessing about whether her hair being curled at a two a.m. crime scene was a sign that she was obviously dating again.

So that night after rolling into bed and setting his alarm, he stared at the ceiling instead of sleeping. At five a.m. when his alarm sounded, his eyes felt heavy and his body tense. He took a long shower and waited in line for ridiculously overpriced coffee and got to work seven minutes later than normal. And instead of diving right into work, he sat with his face in his hand and closed his eyes and felt himself drift into sleep.

Twenty minutes later, Alex leaned in over his shoulder and whispered softly, "Wake up Bobby."

Bobby jerked up and spilled his coffee all over his shirt and almost fell off his chair. Alex couldn't help herself; she snorted a laugh before grabbing a role of paper towel and trying to sop up some of the coffee from his shirt. As soon as she touched him, he jumped away. "I'm sorry. I…Let me get it." Alex surrendered the paper towels and stepped away.

"We can stop at your place and get a new shirt on the way," she offered. Bobby just nodded and looked away.

'God', Bobby thought, 'why did I react that way?' Alex had noticed, he was sure. Now they were sitting in the car, on their way to interview a friend Julianne had lunch with the day of the murder.

"I really hope Julianne mentioned what her plans were after lunch. It would help if we could reconstruct her day," Alex pointed out. Bobby nodded but didn't respond. Alex looked over at him.

"Bobby," she started. He looked up, away from his hands.

"Bobby, what's bothering you?"

He just shook his head. A moment passed before he said softly, "Nothing."

Alex shot him a look of disbelief.

"Really, Eames. I'm tired," he managed a half smile, "I hope this friend has some answers for us."

She nodded, not believing a word he said but deciding to drop it anyway.

Julianne's friend, Meredith, was indeed very helpful. She was an old college roommate of Julianne's and the two had kept in touch over the years. The detectives met her outside of her office building.

"God, I can't believe Julianne was murdered like that. I mean, she was so beautiful and she had so much going for her," Meredith's voice started to break off.

Alex looked over to Bobby before beginning, "It would be really helpful if we knew exactly what Julianne was doing that Sunday. Did she mention anything to you about her plans?"

Meredith nodded, "Yes. She had already been to the office. Then she was planning on running some errands. Julianne worked so much that she had to use Sundays for grocery shopping, picking up dry cleaning, stuff like that. I offered to go with her but she said no, she didn't want to drag me along. God, maybe if I'd gone with her…"

Alex shook her head. "She was killed much later. Were there any specifics that she mentioned?"

Meredith shook her head.

Bobby asked, "Where did Julianne normally get her dry cleaning done?"

"There's a little place. Locally owned. It's near her apartment. I can get you the name." Bobby nodded and after a pause asked, "If you don't mind, could you tell us what you and Julianne talked about over lunch?"

Meredith smiled, "I met this loser last week. We went out a couple of times until I found out he was married with two kids. We laughed about it. I'm always attracting losers." Bobby smiled. "What kind of men did Julianne usually attract?"

Meredith sighed, "The nicest guys. Always. Her fiancé, Jake, he was a really great guy."

"No losers for Julianne," Alex commented.

Meredith stopped and thought for a moment before slowly saying, "Actually. It's funny you mentioned that. When I was telling her about last week's loser, she said this guy had hit on her in a piano bar the weekend before."

"This would have been the weekend of September 2nd?" Goren clarified.

"Yeah. She said it was funny; it was exactly a month after she broke up with Jake. She was wondering if maybe it was a sign that she should have married Jake after all."

Alex pushed her hair back and asked, "What else did she mention about this guy?"

Meredith shook her head, "Just that he was a real loser. My type, we joked. He gave her the creeps. And then he acted really insulted when she turned him down. He said something about her being a snob and then he scared a little. He said he knew where she lived," Meredith's eyes widened as she spoke. "Oh god. You don't think…. This guy was the one. The one who killed her? We laughed about it."

Alex and Bobby exchanged a look.

"We don't know anything," Bobby assured her, "You've been very helpful. Thank you." As the partners walked away, Alex smiled up at Bobby and whispered, "Let's track down Mr. Creepy."

An hour later, they were sitting at a table in the piano bar, sorting through credit card receipts. The bartender was predictably unhelpful. He had shoved the receipts at them and walked away to help a patron.

"We don't even know what we're looking for Bobby. He could've been paid in cash. And if he did pay with a card, there are 300 receipts with male names on them."

Bobby nodded. "Let's make a list anyway." He handed her a yellow legal pad and a pen. Her hand brushed against his arm as she took the items. He pulled back his hand back, almost violently. Alex looked up in surprise.

"Bobby," she started but was cut off by Bobby.

"It's nothing," he said shortly, immediately bending over his own legal pad, scribbling names furiously. Alex watched him for a moment, mystified by her partner's behavior.

By the time they got back to 1PP, it was already four o'clock. They updated Deakins and started running the names of the credit card holders through the police database. A few hits came up for non-violent offenders. A couple of shoplifters, a couple of incidences of breaking and entering. No violent criminals,; no one with a stalking MO.

At eight o'clock, Alex stood up. "It's been three days. We are no where."

Bobby looked up to see her pacing. Quite the role reversal, he noticed. Usually it was he, not his calm partner, who paced out of frustration. He must have had an amused look on his face because Alex stopped suddenly and glared at him.

"What?"

He waved helplessly, "Uhh nothing. I'm not used to seeing you so… frustrated."

"This is a wild goose chase Bobby," she yelled gesturing to the list of names.

Deakins picked this moment to stick his head into the conference room.

"Hey, you two head home. Pick it up again tomorrow."

Bobby shrugged and stood, gathering some of the pictures and putting them into folders. Alex watched him clean up, her hand on her neck, messaging out knots. Bobby looked up as she did and almost dropped the file in his hand. She looked…tense but something about the way she was rubbing her neck… God, he had to get out of there. He rushed past her and didn't wait for her to catch up before taking the stairs eleven flights down.

Alex just watched him go. She was growing accustomed to his crazier than normal behavior of late. She tiredly gathered her own things and waited patiently for the elevator.

She arrived home at nine o'clock. It took a long shower, a glass of merlot and an hour of staring at the ceiling before she was able to fall asleep.

But sadly, sleep was not meant to be. At 12:13 a.m., her cell phone started dancing it's way across her dresser. She stood and stumbled in her sleep and answered shortly, "Eames."

Captain Deakins' voice was clear and awake. "We've got a body. Looks like the same guy as Julianne Meyer's murderer." She scribbled down the address, hung up the phone, cursed loudly and pulled some clothes out of the closet.

Goren was not sleeping when he got the call. He made it to the crime scene twenty minutes ahead of Eames. When he saw Eames walking towards him, he almost broke out into a dance. Her eyes were tired, her hair was pulled into a messy clip and her clothes were different than earlier that day. He smiled broadly and was awarded with a scowl. He chuckled but stepped out of her arm's length to avoid danger.

"Shut up Goren."

He stepped away, amused, and she glared at him again and then asked harshly, "Tell me about our vic."

Bobby took a deep breath, "Dr. Beth Charleston."

Eames eyebrows shot up.

Bobby continued, "Head of cardiovascular surgery at Mount Sinai."

"Successful lady," Eames observed, "Just like Julianne."

Bobby nodded frantically. "Wait till you see the way he left her."

Sure enough, Beth Charleston was face up, completely nude, arms and legs spread wide and bloody from lethal cuts.

Eames cursed softly before putting on gloves and squatting down next to Bobby.

"Same guy," Alex whispered into Bobby's ear.

He closed his eyes and forced his thoughts off of Alex's hot breath and onto the body lying in front of him.

"Same guy," he agreed.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N- - I realize that it has been a whole month since I updated and I seriously apologize. I totally recognize that I'm a jerk for doing that. Blame it on personal chaotic crisis that no one wants to hear about. I'm hoping to finish this up in the next few weeks. It's all outlined and everything. Does anyone else have a hard time writing multiple chapter stories? Feedback really helps my muse though. I LOVE IT!

A/N2- Also, while I am quite intelligent in my chosen field of study, I am a spelling/grammar idiot. IDIOT. I'm sure that if you've read anything of mine, you've already picked up on that. Please don't hate me if there are some glaring errors. I suck.

A trip to Dr. Charleston's apartment revealed nothing of consequence. It was tidy and organized. There were no dishes in the sink or dishwasher. The bathroom was spotless.

"She didn't spend a lot of time here," Bobby observed. Alex looked up from collecting the victim's date book and her laptop.

"I'm going to have Deakins contact her bank," Alex said as she pulled out her cell phone and continued, "Let's see if she stopped by our favorite piano bar."

Goren stepped into the bedroom and poked around in the closet but in the end, both partners agreed that there was nothing of significance to be found.

Next stop was the Mount Sinai hospital. Alex and Bobby were directed to the lobby, where they waited for the head of surgery to finish a consultation he was tied up with. They discussed aspects of both cases, hoping that something connected the two victims. After a few moments, the partners fell into silence and Alex suddenly wondered when Bobby had become so awkward around her.

She thought back to when his behavior had changed. It seemed that before the baby was born, they were still comfortable around one another. After she had been placed on desk duty, Bobby had stopped by her apartment at least three times a week, always bringing dinner and books to keep her mind occupied. And his visit to the hospital hadn't been awkward, she didn't think. She had been pretty doped up but she remembered him holding her hand and setting her at ease with his presence. No, she decided, it had been after the baby that he begun acting differently. Their work since she had returned had been stellar as usual. The cases they had caught were all solved, all except one with plea bargains, in fact. Maybe it was something else, she decided. Maybe his mother wasn't well or he had broken up with a girlfriend. No, Bobby didn't have a girlfriend. She would know if he did. Alex let out a sigh in frustration. Bobby looked over at her just as Dr. Magelby, head of surgery approached.

Both partners stood and shock the doctor's hand. He led them into his office where they all sat.

"I feel terrible about Beth. Not only do I consider her a close friend, but she was the best in her field. She was a great teacher. The medical profession will suffer from this loss." Bobby looked to Alex and then stood, striding to the bookshelf. Alex understood; he wanted her to lead on this questioning.

"Dr. Magelby, what can you tell us about Dr. Charleston's personal life?"

"Well, she was dedicated to the field. She spent a lot of time in the hospital."

Alex nodded and reposed her question, "Do you know if she was seeing anyone?"

The doctor paused uneasily before saying, "We urge our staff to be discrete, especially if their relationships are with each other. I don't know anything for certain but I believe she was seeing a neurosurgeon, Dr. Fredricks."

Alex's eyes got big and she nodded. 'Odd for director of surgery to be aware of his staff's love life', she thought.

Bobby seemed to be thinking the same thing. From his corner by the bookcase, Goren asked quietly, "Was it Dr. Charleston or the neurosurgeon who told you about the relationship?"

Dr. Magelby sat up in his chair and thought about his answer. Bobby and Alex exchanged nervous glances.

"Dr. Charleston," finally came the doctor's answer. He took a deep breath and continued, "Like I said before, Beth and I were close friends."

Alex nodded thoughtfully, "Could you point us in the direction of neurosurgery?"

Dr. Magelby nodded but added, "Dr. Fredricks is at a medical conference in San Fransisco this week."

After concluding the interview, Bobby and Alex headed down to the nurse's station.

"Did you notice how he kept referring to her as 'Beth'?" Alex asked. Bobby nodded.

They quickly decided speak to a few of the nurses who operated with the victim. One nurse in particular seemed to know a lot about Dr. Charleston.

In a hushed voice, Nurse O'Malley confirmed the relationship between Dr. Fredricks and Dr. Charleston.

"I think they were really happy together. Once I walked into the on-call room and he was tickling her. She was laughing really hard," the nurse recalled with amusement in her voice, "Everyone knew they were together. They weren't really trying to hide it."

"How long had they been seeing each other?" Alex wondered aloud.

"Gee," the nurse shrugged a little, "Uhm… I would say a year. I know she was basically living with him."

Alex looked up at Bobby. 'That explains the un-lived in apartment,' she thought to herself. Bobby nodded at her, as if he had heard her unspoken observation.

"Did anyone have a problem with either of them?"

Nurse O'Malley shook her head but then paused, "Actually, I heard a rumor once. Someone told me that Dr. Magelby and Dr. Charleston performed their residencies together in Chicago. A nurse who used to work with them there transferred here. Apparently, they were a hot item way back when. Anyway, Dr. Magelby isn't a real big fan of Dr. Fredricks. Rumor has it Dr. Fredricks isn't being asked to stay here next year."

Bobby thanked the nurse for the information and they headed back to 1PP. Deakins was waiting for an update. They gave him the rundown of what they knew about their victim and then sat down to look through Dr. Charleston's financial statements.

"She visited our piano bar," Alex declared triumphantly a few minutes later.

Bobby looked up, obviously pleased. "Excellent. On the same night?"

"No. Ten days later. The night after Julianne was murdered," Eames looked up puzzled.

"Our guy is escalating. He's not taking as much time," Bobby stood, "to learn about his victims. He only met Dr. Charleston two days ago." He pinned up a picture of both victims and sat back down.

Softly, Alex wondered out loud, "He's already stalking his next victim."

Bobby nodded and looked back at the photos.

Alex went back to her list of names. Absently, she started scrolling through the names of the credit card holders who had been been in the piano bar the same night Julianne had. She was half way down the list when one name stuck out at her. A slow smile crept onto her face.

"Guess who else likes the piano player at that bar?"

Bobby's head shot up. Alex smile now took over her whole face triumphantly.

"Dr. Owen Magelby."


End file.
